The sharp pain had awakened her in the middle of the night.
Octavia was full-term with their baby boy and there was no doubt in her mind, he was coming. At one point, she thought it might've been just Braxton-Hicks, like she'd read about in her books, but the contractions had continued, getting stronger and closer together.
There was no point in telling Lincoln about it yet, though. What would be the point? The contractions weren't too close together and her water hadn't broken yet. He would only worry and fuss helplessly over her like a mother hen – just like he had when Lily had been born. There was still time. When the time came, she would tell him.
Let him sleep, she thought wryly. God knows we'll barely get any rest in the months to come.
So, she sat on the bed next to him as he slept peacefully, rubbing her belly and riding out the occasional contractions.
"Hey..." Lincoln mumbled as he stretched, a lazy smile on his lips.
She looked down at him and grinned. "Good morning."
He sat up to sit against the headboard beside her and leaned to kiss her waiting lips.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep," she lied skillfully. She rubbed her belly again. "This little nugget won't stop kicking."
Lincoln grinned and lowered himself to kiss her protruding stomach.
He got up from the bed and pulled on his jeans.
Octavia tilted her head as she checked him out. After years of being together, he still left her in awe. Could this man be any hotter?
They'd had a pretty active sex life for most of the pregnancy, but had slowed things down in the last few weeks.
She got up, as well, her long black nightgown falling down to her ankles.
After her morning routine of relieving her pressured bladder and washing her face, Octavia pulled her hair up in a bun and went to Lincoln's side.
He was still getting ready for the day.
Despite the warm August weather, he put on a t-shirt. Lincoln wore at least a pair of jeans at all times. They were mostly for Lily's benefit, since their little lady had the nasty habit of walking into their bedroom unannounced.
Speaking of which…
Lily pushed the door open and walked in like a zombie, still half-asleep, holding the ragdoll Octavia had made for her tightly in her small hand.
"Oh, look who's up and about," Lincoln greeted her. "Come here."
She held her arms up, silently asking to be picked up. Lincoln obliged her.
Octavia leaned to kiss Lily's head.
"Good morning, baby."
"Morning, Mama," her daughter mumbled, and then yawned hugely.
"Are you tired?" Lincoln asked.
Lily nodded.
He set Lily on his hip and rubbed her back gently as he carried her toward their bed. Lincoln set their daughter down on the furs.
Lincoln sighed. He was hesitant to leave Octavia alone. In such an advanced state of pregnancy, anything could happen. She could feel sick, or fall down, or go into labor.
"I don't want to go, but…"
"Shhh," Octavia cut him off.
These things took their time, and Lincoln had business to attend to. The Rig didn't run itself, after all. He was responsible for the lives on this Rig. He had a duty to them, to keep them safe and fed. The latter was accomplished mostly through trading with neighboring villages. Most villages weren't by the water, so fresh fish was very hard to come by.
Since the Rig was on water, fish was not in short supply for them, but they did need other things, things that the water couldn't give them. So, every week, they sent three representatives to nearby villages and traded the fresh fish they caught for grain, vegetables, cured meats, milk and other goods.
So, she decided to let him go. Octavia leaned up on her toes and kissed him.
"You should go. Be the leader they need," she argued. She shrugged. "I'm just gonna stay in bed all day, anyway."
Still, he was reluctant.
"Go. We'll be fine," Octavia insisted.
"I'll take care of Mama," Lily offered helpfully from the bed.
"See?" she told Lincoln with a smirk. "I'll be fine."
"Okay," he sighed. "You stay in bed and rest. I'll ask Shay to bring you something to eat."
She wouldn't be eating anytime soon, but she didn't tell him that.
With a final resigned sigh, he dropped a kiss on Lily's head and another one on Octavia's lips before he left.
After he had finally gone, Octavia turned to her daughter.
"Want me to braid your hair?"
Lily's eyes widened and she nodded enthusiastically. She loved it when Octavia braided her brown curls.
"Come on."
They sat down on edge of the bed, Lily in front of Octavia as she worked her fingers through her daughter's hair.
Octavia had to stop every so often to endure another contraction. She smiled. They were getting closer together. It was almost time. When she was done, Octavia stood up from the bed. Almost as soon as she did, she felt a wet gush between her legs. Her water had broken.
She gasped unintentionally, bending over slightly.
Lily stared at her mother in panic.
"Mama?"
She smiled reassuringly. "I'm okay. I swear," she promised. "Lily… I need you to do something very important. I need you to go find your daddy and tell him that it's time, that the baby's coming." Her daughter stared at her with wide eyes. "Tell him to get the midwife. Can you do that?"
Lily nodded emphatically.
"Good girl. Go."
Her daughter ran off to find Lincoln.
Octavia walked – more like waddled – over to the crib slowly. It was the same one they'd used for Lily, the one Lincoln had carved from scratch. He'd brought it back into their room a couple of weeks ago.
She ran hands though the wood lovingly.
Everything was already set up for his arrival.
In addition to the crib, Lincoln had also carved a rocking chair for her. She often sat on it, overlooking the sea. That's how she'd gotten the idea for their son's name. Kai.
Octavia waddled toward it and sat down with some trouble.
She breathed out a sigh as she rubbed her belly.
Here we go, baby.
Lincoln was talking to Darius, making arrangements for the next fish delivery, when he heard his daughter yelling, "Daaaddy!"
He turned around and saw Lily running toward him with a terrified expression. His heart pounded in his chest.
Had something happened? Was Octavia okay? Was it the baby?
When she finally reached him, he kneeled down in front of her and held her by the arms.
"Lily! Lily, what is it?"
"Mama said to come find you. The baby's coming."
Lincoln tried not to panic. He knew he shouldn't have left her alone. Not when she'd been close to delivering…
He turned to Darius. "You know what to do."
The other man nodded dutifully and left for his next supply run.
Lincoln took Lily to where Shay was, preparing Octavia's breakfast, and quickly explained the situation and asked her to watch over his daughter.
Next, he went to get the midwife, a middle aged woman with graying hair, who promised to make all the necessary arrangements and arrive quickly to their room.
But Lincoln couldn't wait for her.
He needed to go to Octavia.
Lincoln entered their room and called out, "Octavia?"
"Here."
He followed her voice out into the balcony.
She was sitting back on the rocking chair, breathing heavily. He kneeled down next to the chair.
"How are you?"
Between the pain of the contractions and the pressure down low, she felt just peachy.
"I'm in labor, so I've been better…" she half-heartedly joked. "Where's Lily?"
"I left her with Shay."
She sighed heavily. "Good."
Lincoln rubbed her belly softly.
The fears that had plagued him during her pregnancy with Lily, though mostly gone, still hovered over his mind like a dark cloud. She knew he wouldn't totally relax until the baby was born and he was sure everything was okay.
"It's time, huh?"
Octavia smile through her grimace. "Yep." She leaned forward at the sudden sharp pain. "Oh!"
"Contraction?" he asked, feeling helpless. He wished he could take her pain away. She nodded, speechless. When it was over, he assured, "It's gonna be okay. The midwife is on her way."
She sat for a little while longer on the chair after the episode, then she held her hands up to him. "Help me up?"
Lincoln took her hands and helped her up from the chair and onto their bed.
She laid down on the bed gently and ran her hands up and down her belly.
Then, she let out a groan.
"Another one?" Lincoln asked sympathetically.
She nodded through a grimace.
"That was really close." Realization came into his face. "How long have you been having contractions?"
"A while," she said a little sheepishly. Lincoln began to protest, but she cut him off, "There was nothing you could've done."
Shortly after, the midwife arrived with an apprentice, bringing along hot water, towels and a series of other instruments.
She examined Octavia's progression.
"You're very close," the midwife declared. "It won't be long before you can start pushing."
That took Octavia aback. "Really? I thought I had a little more time still."
"Second babies are usually faster," the other woman explained.
The midwife was right, of course.
Not too long after the examination, Octavia was pushing with all her might.
"Push!"
She pushed as hard as she could and fell back on the bed.
After a few more minutes of pushing, the midwife announced, "There's the head. Push!"
Octavia shook her head, exhausted beyond words.
Lincoln sat behind her and held her, placing a hand on her belly.
"Push, love."
She gathered her strength and pushed.
Then, they heard the baby's sharp cry.
Octavia leaned back against Lincoln and cried in relief.
The midwife held up the wailing newborn.
"It's a boy!"
The baby wiggled and shrieked, not too pleased to be yanked into the world.
She deposited the baby on Octavia's chest and the apprentice wiped the goo and blood off his little body.
Lincoln and Octavia gazed at their newborn baby in wonderment, with wide smiles on their faces.
He was so perfect. Kai.
Octavia took his tiny hand in hers.
"Hi, baby."
Lincoln carefully removed himself from behind and got up to cut the umbilical cord.
Then, he kissed Octavia's clammy forehead as she held the baby close to her and laughed with relief and pure joy.
Labor was, in one word, messy.
The midwife and her apprentice had left and, as soon as Kai had fed for the first time, she needed a bath and fresh clothes. Badly.
Luckily for her, the baby had fallen asleep almost immediately after he'd eaten. Lincoln had placed him on his crib.
Octavia stretched in the tub, letting the warm water calm her aching muscles.
While she relaxed after the ordeal of giving birth, Lincoln changed the bed's linens and furs.
Then, he checked on Kai. The baby was sound asleep.
"Is he okay?"
"Yeah," he answered. "I think he's milk drunk though."
Octavia grinned.
He went to her side. Picking up a nearby sponge, he began to wash her back.
"He's so amazing."
"Yeah. We do make beautiful babies, don't we?"
Lincoln nodded and leaned down to kiss her.
"I love you," he told her.
"I love you, too."
Then, she groaned loudly at the aches in her body.
"What is it?"
"You're having the next one."
They laughed.
When the water had gone cold, Lincoln helped her out of the tub.
"You should go get Lily," she said. "I'm sure she's dying to meet her baby brother."
Lincoln went to get their daughter and something for them to eat while Octavia dressed.
When they returned, Octavia on the bed, holding Kai.
"Was he hungry again?" Lincoln wanted to know.
"No. He was only fussing a little. I just wanted to hold him," she admitted sheepishly.
She looked to Lily, who seemed a little stunned with everything that was happening.
"Hi, honey. Do you want to meet your baby brother?"
Lily nodded.
"Come here," Octavia said, patting the spot next to her on the bed.
The little girl did as she was told and sat next to her mother.
"This is Kai. He's finally here."
Lily's eyes shined brightly as she looked down at her baby brother.
"Hi, Kai. I'm Lily. I'm your big sister."
Lincoln set the two trays of food he was carrying on his side of the bed and joined them, sitting down next to Octavia. She eyed the contents of the plates hungrily. She hadn't eaten all day.
"That smells amazing. I'm seriously starving."
Lincoln held out his arms. "Give him to me."
She handed Kai to his father and munched down on the delicious food.
"Everybody's excited to meet him," he noted, grabbing some food for himself.
"They're gonna have to wait," Octavia teased. "I'm not ready to share him quite yet."
"Can I sleep here, Mama?" Lily asked suddenly. Octavia had a feeling her baby girl didn't want to part from her parents and much less from her new baby brother anytime soon.
"Yeah. But just for tonight, okay?"
"Okay," the little girl agreed, cuddling close to her mother.
They spent what was left of the day together, talking and eating and cuddling. All four of them together, their little family.
Later, when the sun had gone down, they huddled together to sleep.
Lily lay between her parents, already sound asleep. Today had been pretty eventful for a 4 year-old, becoming a big sister and all.
Lincoln was holding a sleeping Kai (once again, completely milk drunk) as Octavia gazed lovingly at him.
"I forgot how tiny they are," she whispered, holding his little hand.
They marveled over their baby boy.
"He's amazing. You're amazing." He looked at her adoringly. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
He leaned his forehead against hers and they kissed, slow and soft. When they parted, Octavia settled back down on the bed, spooning Lily and kissing her daughter's cheek, and Lincoln got up carefully to set their sleeping newborn on his crib.
Lincoln returned to the bed and nestled down close to his family, his heart.
